Class Notes

Showing class notes submitted in the last year by graduates in the 1990s

1990

'90

Zecevic, Aleksander

Aleksander Zecevic M.S. '90, Ph.D. '93 is one of four recipients of the 2014 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award, presented by Santa Clara's School of Engineering, for distinguished accomplishments in service to his profession, community, and the University.

As professor of Electrical Engineering at Santa Clara University for the past 20 years, Dr. Zecevic also serves as associate dean for Graduate Engineering Programs. His research in the control of complex dynamic systems has resulted in a book and more than 40 publications in leading journals. His interest in the intersection between science and religion has opened the door to a constructive dialogue that transcends simplistic arguments of religious fundamentalism and radical secularism, and has resulted in the publication of two books on the subject, as well as the development of a unique course, "Chaos Theory, Metamathematics and the Limits of Knowledge: A Scientific Perspective on Religion." An excellent educator and a deeply thoughtful collaborator, Dr. Zecevic's search for truth, beauty, and knowledge honor Santa Clara's Jesuit tradition.

submitted Apr. 7, 2014 4:08P

UGRD Leavey Business '90

Murray, Tina (Johnson)

Tina (Johnson) Murray ’90, MBA ’97 lives in Los Gatos with her husband, Kirk, and her 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. Tina continues fundraising for her daughter's local public school, and recently joined the board of directors of the Skylar Hadden Foundation to ensure program funding for her son's school program for children with Asperger's and ADHD. Tina is also serving on the Grand Reunion Committee for her class of 1990.

submitted Feb. 28, 2015 9:25A

UGRD Engineering '90

Monsef, Eric

Eric Monsef ’90, M.S. ’96 led the group responsible for bringing to market HP Sprout, which was awarded Best Desktop PC at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, by PC Mag. The HP Sprout is an immersive workstation that combines a fully loaded TouchSmart all-in-one PC with a combination projector and scanner, plus cameras. Monsef is an engineering management adjunct professor and VP of Immersive Systems at HP.

submitted Mar. 2, 2015 12:10P

UGRD Arts & Sciences '90

Frick, Jin Li (Teo)

In March 2015, Jin Li (Teo) Frick ’90 will say 'goodbye' to San Diego and will be relocating to Shanghai with her husband, Jeff, and son, Jaeden. Jin Li lived in Shanghai in 1994, moving there shortly after graduating from SCU in 1990. She returned from China in 2000, but is moving back again 15-years later in support of her husband's new role as General Manager for HAVAS Life China, a global advertising agency. Jin Li will continue to develop her business, Thrive Energy Coaching & Consulting, from China while their 4-year old son begins kindergarten at Tiny Tots International Preschool and Kindergarten in the Fall.

1991

UGRD Arts & Sciences '91

Nevarez, Kristi

Kristi Nevarez ’91, J.D. ’96 has been named a Partner at Fragomen Worldwide, which is recognized as the world's leading global corporate immigration services provider. For over 17 years, she has advised clients in matters of corporate business immigration. She has also served as the Congressional Assistant and Immigration Policy Advisor to Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Immigration Subcommittee.

Contact Kristihttp://tinyurl.com/nfog7ls

submitted Dec. 3, 2014 4:14P

'91

Chastain, Brandi

World-famous soccer athlete and champion of girls’ health, Brandi Chastain '91 will give the 163rd undergraduate commencement address on June 14. Chastain’s selection to give the commencement address memorializes the 50th anniversary of women’s athletics at Santa Clara, which the University celebrates this year.

Chastain is best known for scoring the penalty kick goal that won the United States the 1999 Women’s World Cup and for her passionate celebration in the moments following. Her success earned her a spot as one of People Magazine’s 25 Most Intriguing People that year, while the photo of her celebration was named one of the 100 greatest sports photos of all time by Sports Illustrated. She took home a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics and a gold medal in 2004 games.

More recent, Chastain co-founded the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative in 2005 with a mission to create programs and partnerships through which women athletes bring health, hope, and wholeness to the community. The initiative offers a free weekly after-school program for elementary school girls to develop self-esteem and good health practices with mentoring from women athletes from collegiate and high school teams.

“Brandi epitomizes the world-class leadership and fortitude that every Bronco is capable of achieving,” says SCU President Michael Engh, S.J. “She is a dedicated and disciplined athlete who is also committed to strengthening communities by advocating for and empowering young girls.”

Chastain was named an All-American twice in soccer during her time as a student. She was also the assistant coach for the Santa Clara Broncos from 1994 to 2000 and is currently in her fourth season as a volunteer assistant coach.

1992

UGRD Engineering '92

Weber, Richard

Richard Weber '92 was recently interviewed in The Californian for his role at Whitson Engineers, where he is an owner and principal partner. A general civil engineering and land survey firm that dates back to the late 1970s, the company has projects in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties. It is also beginning projects in Southern California. Weber joined Whitson Engineers in 1993.

A sampling of large and small projects the engineering firm is presently working on range from a housing development in the East Garrison section of Fort Ord and the proposed softball fields at Toro Park County Park to a flood control study at the mouth of the Carmel River.

Weber says he has seen the private sector begin to rebound about two years ago in 2012. Housing and commercial projects are again on track in Marina on what was formerly the Fort Ord military base and also in other parts of the tri-county area.

Besides the engineering expertise that his staff brings to every project, Weber said it is necessary today to have an understanding of the community. It is important to have a feeling for the sensitive issues that each project involves. These can vary from environmental concerns to a difference of opinion over the use of a particular parcel of land. It takes longer now to move from the concept and drawing board levels to actual breaking ground on a project.

submitted Aug. 2, 2014 11:17A

UGRD Leavey Business '92

Vaughn, Patricia

P. J. Vaughn '92, '98 is now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She works for Chevron as the general manager of the Buenos Aires Shared Services Center.

submitted May. 14, 2014 2:13P

UGRD Arts & Sciences '92

Stafford, Tina

Tina Stafford ’92 has been performing with the First National tour of the Broadway Musical Once for over a year. She hopes all Broncos will have the chance to come see it.

Contact Tinawww.tinastafford.com

submitted Dec. 5, 2014 3:44A

'92

Moore, Shemar

The CBS crime series Criminal Minds, starring Shemar Moore '92 as Derek Morgan, has announced its renewal for a 10th season. Moore played Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless for eight years, leaving in September 2005. He hosted Soul Train from 2000 to 2003.

While attending Santa Clara University, he modeled to pay his bills.

submitted Apr. 24, 2014 10:49A

GRD Ed./Couns Psych./Pastoral Min. '92

Lotti, Elisa (Eidson)

Freshman Dorm: Swig

Elisa (Eidson) Lotti ’89, M.A. ’92 married George Lotti ’90 in 1997. She is a currently the project specialist at Sylvandale Middle School in San Jose, Calif., and was a teacher for 20 years prior to changing educational roles. Lisa and George live in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, where they also run Unconditional Love Animal Rescue and Placement, a nonprofit organization that has rescued approximately 2500 animals from local shelter euthanasia lists since its inception in 1999. In their spare time, they love wine tasting, golf, Tahoe, and snuggling their four kitties and two pups.

Contact Elisahttp://www.ul-rescue.org

submitted Apr. 7, 2014 8:16P

UGRD Leavey Business '92

Johnson, Michael

Michael R. Johnson ’92, M.S. ’93 is completing his fourth year as Middle School Principal at Escuela Campo Alegre, an international school in Caracas, Venezuela. Recently he was appointed to the Middle School Principal position at the Anglo-American School of Moscow for the 2014-2015 school year. He will move to Moscow this summer with his wife, Christina, daughter Danielle (14), and son Derek (11).

submitted Apr. 29, 2014 6:18P

GRD Law '92

Horne, Alexandra

Respected intellectual property attorney Alexandra J. Horne J.D. ’92 has joined Hoge Fenton, a leading Northern California law firm. Practicing together most recently at the firm of Lewis Roca Rothgerber, Brody-Brown and Horne have expertise in the areas of trademark counseling and prosecution, including portfolio analysis and strategic counseling, domestic and global registration and enforcement, domain name issues, and licensing. They will be based primarily in the firm’s Silicon Valley office.

Horne, an IP practitioner of more than 20 years, counsels clients on domestic and foreign trademark registration and licensing and enforcement, including opposition and cancellation proceedings in the USPTO. Horne’s clients, which range from startup to well-established, come from a diversity of industries, including semiconductor, software and other technology, mobility, Internet, banking, entertainment, education and wine.

submitted Feb. 1, 2015 3:41P

'92

Frame, Alan

Santa Clara dentist, Dr. Alan Frame ’92, now offers treatments that can transform smiles and improve dental health, including dental implants and teeth whitening. He is proud to serve the community in which he grew up. Frame is a a member of the Tao Kappa Omega and Omicron Kappa Upsilon, academic dental fraternities, as well as the American Dental Association. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys talking about football, baseball and other athletic events.

submitted Apr. 30, 2014 1:16P

GRD Engineering '92

Ellis, Alan

Alan Ellis ’92 writes, "My son Kevin Anthony Ellis will attend SCU this autumn as an undergraduate with the Class of 2018 majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering."

Contact AlanLinkedIn

submitted May. 20, 2014 4:23P

'92

Dion, Daniel

Photographer Dan Dion ’92 just published his second book, Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond Between a Soldier and His Service Dog (Roaring Brooke Press, 2014). A children's book told from the point of view of a service dog, it features a day in the life of co-author and disabled veteran Luis Carlos Montalvan in New York City.

SCU religious studies and pastoral ministries professor Paul Crowley, S.J., STL '92 has been appointed editor of the journal Theological Studies by its board of directors.

Fr. Crowley will continue teaching at Santa Clara while he serves in this capacity.

“Fr. Crowley’s appointment as editor of this prestigious journal of theology is a great tribute to his abilities as a theologian, writer and teacher,” said Santa Clara University President Michael Engh, S.J. “At a time when theology is being shaped more and more by the lived experiences of all people, Fr. Crowley will bring to this appointment a deep awareness and professional rigor.”

Founded and sponsored by the U.S. Society of Jesus, Theological Studies is a Catholic scholarly journal that serves the Church and its mission by promoting a deeper understanding of the Christian faith through the publication of research in theological disciples. It is located at Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Through refereed articles and reviews of noteworthy books, the journal aims to recover and to help make accessible the riches of the theological tradition, and to present significant developments in current theology. It is published quarterly in English for an international readership.

Fr. Crowley is a native of Sacramento, and received a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from Columbia University, a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union, and an S.T.L. (Licentiate of Sacred Theology) from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. His research focuses on the intersection of systematic theology with modern thought.

submitted Nov. 24, 2014 8:28P

'92

Chiu, Simon

Simon Chiu ’92 was named president of Saint Francis High School, in Mountain View.

1993

David Wiesner ’89, MBA ’93 has joined Edgewood Partners Insurance Center as managing principle and regional director in its Employee Benefits Consulting Division. EPIC is a retail property, casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant. Wiesner brings 25 years of experience in strategic market planning, sales organizational leadership, new product/service development and health and welfare plan consulting to the firm.

As regional director, Wiesner will focus on growing EPIC's employee benefits consulting business in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, recruiting and adding producer/consultants and specialty service teams, and fully integrating EPIC's national Employee Services Platform into local client offerings. Wiesner will be based in San Francisco and will report locally to John Connell , EPIC's President, Employee Benefits of California.

Prior to joining EPIC, Wiesner served for four years with Mercer Health & Benefits, most recently as a principal in the firm's San Francisco Health & Benefits unit. His responsibilities included managing the strategic and financial requirements of health and welfare programs for clients to help them to achieve their business objectives.

Prior to this Wiesner held senior positions at broker/consultants Gallagher Benefit Services and Keenan and Associates.

submitted Oct. 22, 2014 12:44P

UGRD Arts & Sciences '93

Turner, Chris

Chris Turner ’93 currently oversees Discovery Communications' original internet networks and lives in San Francisco. He and wife Lisa welcomed a baby girl, Thea Lucia Turner, on June 15, 2014. She joins brother Casey (2).

Timothy K. Shih Ph.D. '93 is one of four recipients of the 2014 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award, presented by Santa Clara's School of Engineering, for distinguished accomplishments in service to his profession, community, and the University.

Since obtaining his Ph.D. at Santa Clara, Dr. Shih has become a full professor of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National Central University, which is ranked among the top eight research institutions in Taiwan. Throughout his career, he has made major research contributions in the areas of intelligent distance learning and video technology on video repair and special effects production, garnering numerous international research and best paper awards. A prolific researcher, he has more than 480 publications and is the founder of theInternational Journal of Distance Education Technologies, where he served as coeditor-in-chief. He also served as associate editor and area editor for more than 40 journals, including IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, and ACM Transactions on Internet Technology. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

submitted Apr. 7, 2014 4:05P

UGRD Arts & Sciences '93

Mifsud, Christina

Christina Mifsud ’93 is a certified tour guide in Florence, Italy. Travelers seeking a tour from a friendly Bronco can reach her at touritaly@gmail.com.